Semiautomatic feed device



n. 25 192 'la 7 c. Low

SEMIAUTOMATIC FEED DEVICE Filed June 27, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Charlfes l1 .LULU BY @.wb

ATTORN EY Jan. 25 192 7 c. L.. Low

SEMIAUTOMATIC FEED DEVICE 5 sheetssheet 4 Filed June 27, 1924 INVENTOR Char-Les L L0 w Nm mHNm mm Patented Jan. 25, 1927.

y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES L. LOW, OF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO LISENBY MANUFACTURING COMFANY, 0F FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION.

SEMIATOMATIC FEED DEVICE.

Application led June 27,

This invention relates to improvements in printing presses, and especially to a more or less small, power driven type suitable for job printing and such as are useful for printing envelopes, letter-heads, circular letters, leaflets and everything of a like nature, which are fed into the press one by one.

The principal object of my invention 1s to provide a feeding attachment for such presses interposed between the stack of blank sheets to be printed and the printing cylinder, by means of which the sheets when placed one by one onto the upper end of the conveyor 'of the attachment will be moved therealong; will then be jogged so as to be in correct and predetermined a'linement with the type form; and will then be fed to the printing cylinder, the latter and the type form at the same time moving into cooperative and printing relation with each other.

The operation of the device is entirely au` tomatic except for the initial feeding of the sheets by the operator, and the various operations are so coordinated and timed in their sequence that a sheet will notI be fed to the printing cylinder until it has been jogged straight; and another sheet will not be received onto the conveyor until after the rst sheet has been fed to the cylinder.

This arrangement allows the use of an unskilled operator for the initial sheet feeding operations, thus making the press especially suitable for business houses who desire to occasionally print matter for their own uses, but who do not have enough to warrant employing a professional printer.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear b v a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicatecorrespondings parts in the several views:

Fig. l is a partial side elevation of the press, with the frame in dotted outline, and with all parts not essential to the present invention omitted. In this view, the moving bed is moving toward the head end of the press; the starter rolls are engagedwith the 1924. Serial No. 722,731.

F ig. 2 is a similar view, but with the initi al driving mechanism omitted. In this view the mov-mg bed 1s moving to the rear; the starter rolls are ra1sed,`preventing feeding of another sheet onto the conveyor; the` jogger has past its fully advanced point,

and the guide lingers are raised and the drop rolls engaged, causing the sheet to be fed to the printing cylinder, the latter not having quite reached a printing setting with regard to the type form.

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views of the semi-automatic feed device itself, and adjacent members, with the parts in the positions corresponding to the showing in Figs. 1 and 2 respectively.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the drop roll and feed guide structure, showing the positions of these members as the printing cylinder moves to its actual printing position.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the feed device, with the parts as in Figs. 2 and 4.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral l denotes the frame of the press, of suitable l design, slidably mounted in which is the moving bed 2 carrying the type form 3 and ink plates 4 at both ends of the same. The means for supplying ink to these plates, and thence to the type, is notshown, having no bearing on this invention, this structure being vfully set forth in my copending application on paper feed, printing, and inking control mechanism for printing presses, tiled June 27th, 1924, Serial No. 722,732.

The bed is continuously reciprocated through a given distance by means of a link 5 connected thereto and to a rocking 'lever 6 pivoted on the frame, movement being imparted to this lever by means of a connecting rod 7 attached thereto and to the lll() crank 8 of a shaft 9. The shaft 9 carries a gear 10 driven from a pinion l1 on a shaft 12, which is the main drive shaft of the press and is connected to any suitable power means.

Extending lengthwise of and mounted on the bed 2 is a rack 13 engaging a lgear 14 turnable on a shaft which has an eccentric portion 16 intermediate its ends, the ends of said shaft being journaled in blocks 17 mounted on thelframe 1.

Turnably mounted on the eccentric portion 16 and rotatively connected with the gear 14 is the printing cylinder 18, adapted when the eccentric ortion 16 is lower-most, to engage the type orm 3 in printing relati'on.

The shaft 15 is reciprocated,'and consequently the cylinder moved up and down, through a predetermined arc and at a predetermined period relative. to the movement 4 of the moving bed, by means-of an arm 19 attached to the shaft 15, to the' outer end of which arm is attached a rod 20 connected at itsopposite end to the upper end of a lever 21. This lever is pivoted intermediate its ends on the frame `1, and carries on its lower end a roller 22 which rides on a cam 23 fixed on the shaft 9. This cam is designed so that the cylinderwill remain lowered during a peripheral movement thereof approximately equal to the length of the type form; and will be raised clear of the form for the remainder -of the revolution of the shaft 9. The .driving parts are so connected to each other that this lowered position of the cylinder is had while the type form is moving toward the delivery end of the press.

The semiautomatic feed structure mounted on the press and operable in conjunction with the above described structure comprises fundamentally a feed conveyor of more or less ordinary form, consisting of side rails 24,upper and lower tape rollers 25 and 26, over which the endless tapes 27 run, and a plate 28 between the rollers and just under the upper runs of the tapes.

The side rails are journaled axially of the rollers on the frame 1, while the opposite end of the rails rest on the cylinder supporting-blocks 17, the structure having a certain downward slant toward the cylinder.

The starter rolls 29, engageable with the head tape rolls 25 between the tapes, are mounted on a shaft 30 which is supported at its ends by arms 31 which are loosely supported on a transverse shaft 32, the starter rolls thus normally contacting with the tape rolls. Pins 33 project transversely from the arms 31 intermediate their ends, which are engaged at certain times by lugs 3 4 under the same and fixed on the shaft32.

From the outer end of the shaft, beyond the side rails in which said shaft is journaled, a lever 35 depends, a spring 36 being connected to said arm in a manner to normally cause the lugs to engage the pins 33 and raise the starter rolls.

A transverse pin 37 projects from the lower end of the lever 35 into the ath of movement of a vertical arm 38 rigidly attached to a rod 3 9 connected to fin-auxiliary rocking arm 40 mounted on the frame 1 and itself connected to the rocking arm 6. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) The rod 39 thus reciprocates through a certain distance with every revolution of the shaft 9, and to avoid duplication of parts also serves to operate the ink-roll of an ink-fountain of the press,

i indicated in dotted lines at 4].

The head tape rolls are driven at a considerably higher speed than the shaft 9, by a belt or other drive v42, driven from the main drive shaft l2, the upper runs of thc tape moving ofcourse toward the cylinder.

The 'drop rolls 43, engageable with the vlower tape rolls 26, are mounted on a shaft 44' which is supported at its ends on arms 45 which are journaled intermediate their ends on the side rails. The forward ends of these arms have vertical adjustment screws 46, the lower ends of which are engaged by lugs 47 fixed on a transverse shaft 48 journaled in the side rails ahead of the arms 45. Spring means 49 (see Fig. 5) act on the arms 45 to hold the drop rolls raised.

Adjustably fixed on the shaft 48 and extending rearwardly of the dropl rolls are the feed guides 50, whose lower ends normally engage and project below the feed guide tongues 51 which rest on the rolls 26 between the tapes, and extend from and in substantial alinement with the rear end of the plate 28, to a point adjacent and in line with the feed rolls 52 which lie just ahead of the cylinder and are driven by gearing 53 `(see Fig. 6) from the rack 13.

By reason of this drop roll and feed guide arrangement, it will be seen that if the shaft 48 is rotated to cause the lugs 47 to engage and raise the adjacent ends of the arms 45, the drop rolls will be lowered, while -at the same time the feed guides will bc raised.

Such movement is imparted to the shaft 48 at predetermined times by means of an arm 54 connected to the outer end thereof, the free end of said arm carrying a roller 55 which rides on a cam 56 mounted in connection with the arm 19. This cam has three surfaces, all different distances from the axis of the shaft and all concentric therewith. The first or normally forward surface A is such that when the roller 55 is riding thereon, the feed guides are in their lowermost position and the drop-rolls are raised, as shown in Fig. 3.

The second surface B is relatively short and is so disposed that when the roller 55 is riding thereon, the guides 50 will be fully raised and the drop rolls lowered as shown in Fig. 4. The third surface C is lower than the surface B, but higher than surface A, being so designed that when the roller is riding thereon, the drop rolls will be raised' from the tape rolls, butthe feed guides will still be clear of the tongues 51, as shown in Fig. 5. The purpose of this arrangement will be seen hereinafter.

Resting on the plate 28 parallel to the side rails and tapes and to one. side of the latter is a stationary paper guide-bar 57, extending from just ahead of the drop rolls to a point somewhat to the rear of the starter rolls, and having an outward flare at the latter end (see Fig. 6). A plurahty of lfm-gif tudinally alined and very weak leaf'springs 58, disposed in a vertical plane, are attached at one end to the inner vface of the bar 57, and slope thence inwardly toward the rear end of the bar and at an acute angle therewith.

The bar is mounted for transverse'adjustment on the conveyor by means of a bearing block 59 fixed on the outer face and at the rear end of the bar, this block beixg slidable on a transverse rod 60 extending hetween and mounted in the side rails below the level of the plate 28. The block is l'ield in any desired position on the rod by a screw 61 in the block bearing on said rod. i

Parallel to the bar 57 on the opposite side of the tapes therefrom is the movable jogger bar 62, having at its rear end and on its outer face a bearing block 63 which 1s mounted for transverse adjustment on a rod 64 slidably mounted in the side rails 24 a short distance to the rear of the rod and parallel thereto. An adjustable screw 65 1n the block 63 bears against the rod 64 and enables the block and jogger bar being fixed on vthe rod in any desired position.

l A spring 66 is mounted on the rod 64 at one end thereof and acts to pull the same in that direction which will move the jogger inwardly or toward the stationary guide 57. The spring movement is limited, and at certain periods overcome so that the joggcr will move outwardly, by means of a vertical arm 67 under the rod 64 adjacent the end thereof opposite the spring, the arm being fixed on a shaft 68 journaled onto the frame 1 on the outside extending longitudi-` nally thereof. The upper end of the arm 67 is forked and straddles the shaft 64, acollar 69 being on the latter beyond the fork, the latter bearing against the collar.

Reciprocation of the shaft 68 through a` predetermined and limited arc is edected by means of a horizontal arm 70 projecting outwardly therefrom, the outer end of this arm being attached to a rod 71 whose lower end is connected to the adjacent end of the shaft 9 in eccentric relation therewith, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By reason of this arrangement, with the continuous rotation of the shaft 9, the jogger is alternately caused to move inwardly by the pressure of the spring-66, and outwardly bythe pull of the arm 67 when the latter is moving outwardly. 'lhe movement controllin rod' 71 is connected to the shaft 9 in suc relation to the ositions of the other parts controlled by t e rotation of the shaft,l that the jogger is permitted to move inwardly (this being the sheet-straightening movement) only during the time the starter rolls are raised clear of the tape rolls, and prior to the rais.-4 ing of the feed guides and lowering of the drop-rolls.

In connection with the shaft 48, I provide 1 a sheet distinguishing mechanism, controlled 1n its operation by a. sheet on the conveyor, and acting to prevent raising of the feedguides, and movement of the rinting cylinder to a printing position, 1n the event that more than one of the sheets are in super-V imposed order on the conveyor at one time, a sheet of excess thickness over that. for which the press is working on at the time; or no sheet at all, is on the conveyor. In connection with this mcchanisnnl make use of a shaft 72 turnably mounted in the side. rails above and to the rear of the shaft 48, and a lever 73 fixed on said shaft and cooperating" with a cam device (not shown) j mounted in connection with the cylinder gear 14. kThis mechanism however forms no part of the present invention, bein particularly featured in the lirst nam of the aforementioned copending applications.

The operation of the semiautomatic feed structure is as follows:

The guide and jogger bars 57 and 62 are first adjusted on their respective rods so that the sheets to be printed will it easily therebetween when the jogger is in its innermost position, and also to aline the Sheets transversely so that the matter on the type form `3,"'when impressed on the sheets, will be properly located therein with respect to the side edges of the sheets.

The blank -sheets or other matter to be printed are placed in a stack on a-table 74 suitably7 disposed ahead ofthe feed conveyor lll! and substantially on a level with the top of the. head tape roll. The shaft 12 is then caused to rotate, setting the press in oper..- tion. The sheets are fed ,by the operator, one at a time, onto the conveyor, by placing the end of the sheet closest to the conveyor on the head tape roll at any time when the starter rolls are raised, which will be during the latter part of the 'forward or retractive movement of the .bed 2, and the first part of its rearward movement. This' is because during such movement, the rod 39 and arm 38 are near their forward limit of movement, '-35 the arm backing away from the lever 35 and the latter by reason of the spring 36, following up such movement. The lugs 34 will then engage the pins 33 on the starter-roll l arms, and the latter with the rolls, will be im .Ill

raised, and Will of course remain raised until the arm 38 has moved rearwardly a certain distance.

With the sheet in the above named position but the starter-rolls raised, it will not move any farther of itself onto the conveyor. As soon as the starter rolls drop, however, the sheet will be fed along the conveyor until it is stopped by the guides 50. This entire movement of the sheet takes place almost instantlv, as the tapes are travelling at a considerable speed, which is greatly in excess of that of the reciprocating parts of the press.

A certain time, after thelstarter rolls have dropped and during the retracting or forward movement of the bed 2, the rod 7l starts to raise, causing the arm 67 to turn toward the adjacent side rail, and permitting the spring 66 to move toward the stationary guide 57. At this time, the startcr'rolls are raised, preventing accidental feeding of another sheet onto the conveyor, but permitting another sheet to be placed in starting position ready for the next gripping movement of the starter rolls. The` result of this jogger actionY is that in the event that a sheet has been fed onto the conveyor out of prop# er transverse alinement, or its edge is not straight with the guide 57, it will be automatically straightened out and lined up before being fed to the printing cylinder. The springs 58 on the guide bar act as yieldable stops for the side edge of the paper, andbeing all of the same strength, do not cause the sheet to move out of alinement when once it is straigthened out by the jogger.

During this time, the roller 55 of the lever 54` which controls the rotation of the shaft 486s on the low section A of the cam 56, and the feed guides are consequently in their lowermost position, preventing the passage of the sheet therepast. With the movement of the form 3 rearwardly and toward its printin position, the rod 20, due to the cam 23 whic controls the movement of the lever 21 to which said rodis connected, moves rearwardly, turning the arm 19, shaft 15 and cam 56 as a unit. The high section B of the cam 56 therefore approaches the roller 55 until just after the jogger has completed its inward movement and has started on its retractive movement, said roller is forced to ride on the cam portion B.

This causes the shaft 48 to be rotated, rais ing the feed guides and lowering the drop rolls against the lower tape roll, inthe manner previously described. The drop rolls being ahead of the feed guides, then bear on the sheet resting on the conveyor thereunder, causing the paper to be fed between the cylinder feed rolls 52, which then continue to feed the sheet to the cylinder.

' By the time the forward end of the sheet has been engaged by said feed rolls, the drop rolls have been raised, without lowering the feed guides all the way, by the passage of the roller 55 onto the third portion C of the cam 56, due to the continued rotation of said cam in the same direction.

This raising of the drop rolls prevents the two separate paper feeding means from interfering with each other and exerting `a drag or buckling effect on the sheet.

With the above mentioned rotation of the cam 56 and shaft 15, the eccentric portion 16 ofsaid shaft, and on which the cylinder 18 rotates, is lowered, till just after the sheet is received between the feed rolls 52, .the cylinder is lowered to its printing position, and the type formwhas then moved into printing relation therewith. Further rotation of the shaft 15 and cam 56 is then prevented while the type form 'is engaged with the cylinder, by reason of the fact that the lever 21 is then held stationary, the roller 22 thereof then riding on a portion of the cam 23 which is concentric with the shaft.

The shaft 48 is also held stationary during this period, causing the feed guides and drop rolls to be maintained in the last named positions,\until the sheet has pazsed entirely beyond theguides. The sheet, after printing, is received onto an ejector conveyor 75 of suitable type.

With the completion of the printing movement, the bed 2 moved forwardly, and

the direction of rotation of the shaft 15 and associated parts is reversed, causing the cylinderto be raised, and the feed guides to' be' returned to their normally lowered position.

The starter rolls are likewise again raised, and the cycle of operations repeated.

It will thus be. seen that with the operation of the press, the feeding of av sheet from the upper end of the'conveyor around the printing cylinder is automatic, and the only manual operation necessary is to place a,` sheet on the headtape roll any time the starter rolls are raised.

It will also be seen that all movements of the press are`coordinated for one operation to take place out of its proper order, and it is unnecessary for the operator to use great care in feedingI the sheets. An unskilled operator can therefore be used, while at the same time a large volume of matter can be run through the press.

It will be noted that the conveyor is nowhere permanently connected to the pressframe or to any moving parts of the press, except at its upper end, and being pivoted at such end, can be readily swung upwardly when necessary to get at the ink-plate rolls which are disposed thereunder.

From the foregoing descri tion it will be readily seen that I have pro uced such 4a devvice as substantially fulfills the objects ofthe invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in delll() llU tail the present and preferred construction of the device, ftill in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not forni a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim l'as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V

1. In a printing press having a printing cylinder and a feed conveyor mounted on the press ahead of the said cylinder including tape rolls parallel to the cylinder and endless driven tapes extending therebetween;

5 intermittently operated means for enabling a sheet to be fed onto the conveyor from the head end thereof, releasable stop means normally preventing passage of the sheet from the conveyor to the cylinder, drop rolls positioned ahead of the stop means and engageable with the lower tape roll only as the stop means are released, and means actuated incommon for simultaneously releasing the stop means and moving the drop rolls into engagement with the tape roll, and for then causing the drop rolls to be disengaged from the tape roll without at the time causing the stop means to be again moved to a stopping position.

2. In a printing 'press having a printing cylinder and a feed conveyor mounted on the press ahead of the cylinder, said cylinder including tape rolls parallel to the cylinder and endless tapes thereabout feed guide tongues at the lower endv of the conveyor and substantially in alinement with the upper runs of the tapes, means for feeding a sheet onto the conveyor; feed-guides whose rear ends are normally engageable with the tongues and acting as stop means for the sheet, drop rolls engageable with the lower tape roll ahead of the rear ends of the feed-guides and normally raised therefrom, driven feed rolls between the cylinder and the rear ends of the feed guides, means for raising the feed guides and lowering the drop rolls into engagement with the adjacent tape roll to enable a sheet to be then fed to said feed rolls, and means whereby as said sheet is engaged by the feed rolls the drop rolls will be raised.

3. In a printing press having a printing cylinder and a feed conveyor mounted on the press ahead of the cylinder, said conveyor including tape rolls parallel to the cylinder and endless tapes thereabout; feed guide tongues at the lower end of the conveyor and substantially in alinement with the upper runs of the tapes, means for feeding a sheet onto the conveyor; feed-guides comprising horizontal portions above the tongues and vertical rear ends normally engageable with said tongues and then acting as stops for the sheet, a turnable shaft on which said guides are fixed, drop rolls ahead of the rear ends ofthe guides and engageing the drop rolls and projecting toward said shaft, said arms being pivoted intermediate their ends, means tending to hold the forward ends of said arnif-f down. lugs on the shaft projecting under the forward. ends of the arms whereby when the shaft is rotated to raise the gude's the drop roili will be lowered, and means for thas rotating the shaft at predetermined periods.

4 In a printing press having a printing cylinder and a feed conveyor mounted on the press ahead of the c 'linden said conveyor including ta e rolfs parallel to the cylinder. and en less tapes thereabout; feed gulde tongues at the lower end of the conveyor and substantially in alinement with the upper runs of the tapes, means for feeding a sheet onto the conveyor; feedguides comprising horizontal portions above the tongues and vertical rear ends normally engageablevwith said tongues and then acting as stops for the sheet, a turnable shaft on which said guides are fixed, drop rolls ahead of the rear ends of the guides and engageable with the lower tape-roll arms supporting the drop rolls and projecting toward said shaft, said arms being pivoted intermediate their ends, means tending to hold the forward ends of said 'arms down, lugs on the shaft projecting under the forward ends of the arms whereby when the shaft is rotated to raise the guides the drop rolls will be lowered, a rotatable cam having more than two different levels relative to the axis of the cam, an arm projecting from the shaft, and means on the outer end of the shaft bearing on one at a time of said cam levels.

5. In a printing press having a printing c linder and a feed conveyor mounted on t e press ahead of the cylinder; said conveyor including tape rolls parallel to the cylinder and endless driven tapes extending therebetween; starter rolls adapted to engage the head tape roll to cause a sheet resting on the latter to be fed onto the conveyor, a turnable shaft on the conveyor to the rear of the starter rolls, arms turnable on the shaft, the rolls being mounted at the free ends of said arms, lugs fixed on the shaft and engageable with the arms to raise the same, and means for reciprocating the shaft through a given are to cause the lugs to be alternately engaged and disengaged with the arms.

6. In a printing press having a rotatable printing cylinder and a horizontally reciproeable type form arranged to alternately move thereunder and pass clear of the same, means for driving the cylinder and form in coordinated relation, a feed conveyor mounted ahead of the cylinder and arranged to receive the sheets to be printed in individual order thereon, releasable stop means adjacent the rear end of the conveyor normally reventing the passage of a sheet to the cy inder, feed means on the lconveyor for feeding the paper toward the cylinder when the stop means are released, means for causing the cylinder to be lowered into enga ement with the form when the forward en of the form passe-s under the cylinder, cam means arranged in connection with the cylinder lowering means, and means between said cam and the stop and feed means whereby as the cylinder is movino` down the stop means will be released andthe feed means actuated, and subsequently but prior to the arrival of the cylinder at its lowermost position, the ,"aed means will be rcndered inoperative but the stop means will remain released.

7. In a printing press, a conveyor including endless driven tapes to receive a sheet thereon, means for feeding a sheet onto the conveyor, a fixed guide bar extending parallel to the conveyor, a transversely movable jogger bar opposed to the fixed bars; and weak leaf springs pro'ecting inwardly from one bar, said springs eing fixed to the bar at'their forward ends and extending thence rearwardly at an acute diverging angle to the bar. h

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

CHARLES L. LOW. 

